


Pride & Prejudice - A Collection of Ficlets

by elizabeth_darcy



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Pride and Prejudice (2005), Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-06
Packaged: 2018-05-05 05:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5362526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabeth_darcy/pseuds/elizabeth_darcy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>***UPDATE: I'm no longer using this; I've separated the stories into their own fics. If you want the best version of the stories, I have them posted in my Pride and Prejudice series and I suggest you find them there. I'm keeping this up, however, for anyone who may have it bookmarked or something so they won't be lost if they want to find it again. Thanks! ***</p><p>A bunch of one-shots/ficlets because I often get ideas for AUs but don't have the energy or enough of ideas to write out a full fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wrong Address

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzy goes to a house party in the nicer side of the city.

"Oh," I looked behind the stranger and into his home where only a couple of other people sat on a couch, "I was headed to a party, I guess I'm at the wrong house."  
The tall, dark man eyed me up and down as if I were a piece of trash and simply speaking to him was draining his obviously massive bank account. "I'm pretty sure any party that you're invited to won't be one in this zip code..."  
My mouth fell open and my eyes flashed with anger. I quickly mended, "You know what, I think you're right. Your ego is so big that it probably  _takes up_  the entire zip code. And I would  _never_  want to be at a party where you were there, so I'll just be leaving. Thanks for all your help."  
I turned on my heel and promptly walked back down the path to my car. I stopped outside of it and dialed Charlotte's number.  
"You gave me the wrong address; I arrived and there were only a few people inside."  
"Oh, Lizzy! I know for a fact I gave you the correct address, you are probably just early."  
"Char, it's 9. You said it starts at 9."  
"But no one gets there on time! It's a fashionably late thing, I don't know."  
"How far away are you?" I sighed.  
"I haven't left yet."  
"Well, I have no idea what to do, because the guy who answered the door was an utter dick to me and I can't possibly walk back up to that door if I have any shred of dignity. I mean, I told him I never wanted to be at a party with him there."  
"Lizzy!"  
"I'm sorry! He told me to get lost because there was no way I was invited to a party in this  _fancy_  zip code."  
"You're gonna have to go in at some point. Would you rather sit in your car for half an hour and wait? I think that shreds even more dignity."  
"I refuse to sit in that house alone with that jerk," I complained, turning around to see that the man had never closed the door and was still staring at me as he leaned against the threshold. "Sorry, I have to go..."  
"Wait, wha-" I ended the call before she could finish.  
"What?" I shouted up to him, crossing my arms over my chest.  
He raised an eyebrow, "What?"  
"You're staring at me."  
"Yeah, and you're staring back. I believe that's a common thing to do when two people are talking."  
I started climbing the stars up the pathway and back to the door, "Ha, ha, Smartass, but you were looking at me before we started talking."  
"After what you just said to me a few minutes ago, you are calling me the smartass? That's a stretch."  
I took a deep breath to calm the rising bubbles of anger and annoyance in my chest, "So, it turns out I'm at the right place. I think it's funny how I was invited by you, yet you didn't even recognize me," I smirked as I got a better look at his face.  
"This isn't actually my house."  
My eyebrows scrunched together, "Then why did you open the door?"  
"Charlie was too stressed about the party to function. Don't worry, he'll be better in five minutes. But, by that logic, you should have known that I wasn't the owner of the house," he responded, crossing his arms.  
"Fine," I agreed through gritted teeth.  
"Oh?" He laughed, "And how did that feel? Giving in, I mean."  
I blinked. "So, are you going to let me in to the house, or am I just going to wait out here?"  
"I definitely wouldn't be opposed to you staying out here."  
"You're really funny. Has anyone ever told you that? You should consider going into comedy," I continued, sarcastically, as I stepped past him and into the house.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys i know that i havent updated as soon as i thought i would.  
> but trust me im writing LIKE CRAZY so just hold on.  
> also if you have ideas for fics you think i should write, email me at Musicals.Typewriters@gmail.com . but know that just because i dont write it, doesn't nessessarily mean its not the best idea ever. it might be, i just might have a hard time writing it.


	2. Masquerade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzy goes to a masquerade party as she is celebrating spring break in Pemberley (and trying to forget about a certain someone).

Lizzy sloshed her drink around in its cup slightly as they walked, "I don't think masquerades work. Everyone knows who everyone is, what's the point?" Sure, she wasn't anywhere near her college, but she had been in Pemberley for about a week and she had met a lot of the other spring breakers in the area.  
Ella Gardiner, Lizzy's senior friend who was the reason Lizzy was attending this party, threw her head back and laughed, "The mask covers enough for it to be hard to recognize anyone in the insanely dimmed lights. Add too-loud music for unrecognizable voices, hats to cover the top of the hair, and lots and lots of alcohol and no one will even recognize their best friend."  
Lizzy shook her head, "I would disagree, but whatever." She knew there was no point in arguing, so they just entered the party, silently.  
Lizzy didn't like the masks. It made it harder to see people's expressions. Lizzy considered herself good at reading people (not counting the whole Darcy situation...) and she didn't like not seeing people's faces one bit.  
But then there was that that just came up again. Darcy. The name she'd been desperately trying to forget about for months. The only reason she took her friend up on the offer to go on a roadtrip for spring break. At least here in Pemberley she was 100% positive she wouldn't run into Darcy.  
It gave her a sense of ease, but she also felt a little tug in her stomach at the thought of him not around. What was that about?  
Lizzy shook her head and proceeded to talk (and maybe even flirt) with many a masked woman and man around her.  
There was one in particular who had caught her eye very early on in the night, but she didn't see him talking to anyone besides some young blonde whom he was probably dating. She tried to not think about him, but she kept catching him looking in her direction. It was too dark in the room to tell if he was actually looking at her or not.  
Finally, the blonde left his side and Lizzy figured to give it a shot. Why not, right?  
She poured herself a drink and found her way over there. "So," she started, "Am I mistaken or have you been watching me for the past half hour?"  
His lips quirked into a smile, "For you to have noticed I was looking at you so often, you would have had to have been looking at me, too."  
Lizzy raised an eyebrow, "Touché."  
They stared at each other for a moment longer before Lizzy continued, "It's a weird thing- a masquerade. Usually one would introduce themself at this point but instead we awkwardly stand here, unable to reveal our identities."  
The man looked over at a clock on the wall, "We could break the rules."  
"Ah, but what's the fun in that?" Lizzy teased. "And what of that blonde girl you've been with all night? She your girlfriend?"  
He snorted, "Hardly. Try little sister."  
That was good news for Lizzy, "Well, you'll have to introduce me sometime. She's quite the hotty..."  
Disappointment flooded his face, "Oh."  
Lizzy laughed, "Relax, hot shot, I swing both ways. And besides," she shrugged, "She's not my type."  
"Then what IS your type?" The man inquired.  
"How tall are you, again?"  
He smiled, "6'5""  
"6 foot 5 mysterious guys wearing all black who are nameless until midnight are my type. What about you?" She took a sip of her drink.  
"Oh, I'm into the whole," he looked at me for a second, trying to judge my height, "5 foot 8 witty brunette who's probably cleverer than most of the people in the room, including myself."  
Lizzy cocked her head to the side and shook it, "Pity. I'm 5'9"."  
He shook his head, "So close."  
"'Close only counts in horse shoes and masquerades.' Not too sure how well that one works, but I guess it could catch on."  
They beamed at each other until Lizzy put down her drink and took his hand, "Come on, let's dance."  
They danced. And they danced. And it was nice.  
And they forgot about everything outside of each other and just enjoyed a wonderful night.  
Before they knew it, someone shouted "It's one minute 'til midnight!" And a countdown started as if it were New Years Eve.  
"3, 2, 1!" The crowd erupted in cheers and everyone removed their disguises and threw them into the air,  
Except for the two people standing towards the side of the dance floor, who had stopped breathing completely as they stared at the identity of the person they had each been flirting with all night.  
"Fuck!" Lizzy exclaimed. She turned around abruptly and quickly made her way outside.  
The ONE person she never wanted to see in her whole life. The ONE person.  
She had actually thought that maybe she wouldn't have to worry about those feelings she'd had about Darcy which she's gotten recently. She thought maybe she could move on from all of the crap with this new guy.  
WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE DARCY?!  
No doubt Darcy was disappointed that the girl he thought was cool behind the mask turned out to be the frigid bitch who rejected him six months ago.  
Lizzy found her way outside and sat on the steps. She didn't even hear anyone sit down next to her.  
"You okay?" A girly voice asked.  
Lizzy laughed bitterly, "Not really."  
"What's wrong?"  
Lizzy looked over at her. She seemed to be genuinely concerned. Lizzy took a deep, steady breath, "Turns out the guy I've been avoiding for months is the guy I've been flirting with all night."  
"Why are you avoiding him?"  
"Because I was a dick to him. And he's wonderful and doesn't deserve a bitch in his life."  
"But doesn't that mean he likes you? Because he was flirting with you all night?"  
"No. He liked the version of me who wasn't a bitch, and now the two versions have melded and tonight won't change a thing. For him, at least."  
"Has he not forgiven you for what you did?"  
"I don't know. I don't think it was very forgivable. I accused him of a lot of things..."  
"Maybe you should ask him how he feels. Maybe you are perceiving it all wrong."  
Lizzy shook her head, "No, I don't think I am."  
"It can't hurt to try?"  
Lizzy sighed and fiddled with the dirt under her feet, "No. No, it can definitely hurt to try. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't." She turned to the girl next to her, "Thank you. I needed that." She hugged her and the girl wished her luck.  
But before Lizzy could walk back inside, her phone rang.  
"Hello? ... Wait, what happened? ... Lydia? ... How?! ... No, no, I'm on my way right now."  
Lizzy sprinted down the steps and off back towards the place she was staying for the week. Damn was she glad that it was in walking distance.  
"Hey! Wait! Don't chicken out! You can-"  
"No, no, it's not about the guy, my sister is in trouble. I have to go. Thanks for your help, though!" And she took off back home.  
In her rush, Lizzy missed the disappointment on the girl's face as the girl realized she would have to go home to a re-heartbroken brother.


	3. Wrong Number

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzy calls the wrong number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ik its super short.  
> but i like it sooo.

"Haha," Lizzy forced a nervous laugh immediately after she heard the phone be picked up, "I've just made Ms. De Bourgh angry and now I'm hiding in the bathroom. Please come save me."

A deep voice that Lizzy did not expect laughed, "I can help, but I'm not entirely sure where you are. Or /who/ you are."

"Crap. You aren't Charlotte."

"Not the last time I checked."

"And now I've made a complete dumbass of myself twice. Shit. I'm sorry..."

"How did you even manage to misdial? Were you not calling a close friend who was in your contacts?"

Lizzy narrowed her eyes at his remark then checked what name this number was under in her phone

"Nope, looks like I just clicked on the contact right above Charlotte's. Why, hello again 'Charlie's Douchebag Best Friend.' I haven't seen you since... a month before Jane and Charlie broke up a year ago. How have you been? Snobby, as always, I would guess."

"Is this... Lizzy Bennet??"

"Yep. Bet you're glad that I reminded you of me, eh? That one girl who liked to piss you off on our double dates?"

To be honest, Darcy was delighted to hear from her again. He blushed thinking about her.

"You could say that," Darcy responded, playing it cool.

"Yeah, well. I'd love to continue this painful conversation until we are limited to the smallest small talk which leads to an awkward silence, but as I said earlier, I've made quite the mistake. So, I either need to go fix it, or slip out the bathroom window. Either way, I gotta go. Later, Darce."

And she hung up before he could say goodbye back.

 


	4. The Bennet Hotel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzy works at her family's hotel; Darcy is a guest there who keeps ordering room service.

"Lizzy!" Mary's voice came from the front door, "The royal pain wants you!"

I sighed and took one more deep sniff of the rain. It was absolutely pouring and the gutters were overflowing, and I couldn't get enough of it.

I, sadly, ran back inside and left my clear umbrella to dry in the lobby.

Unzipping my jacket, I re-adjusted my uniform collar and walked up to the front desk.

"What does our  _wonderful_ guest want now?"

Charlotte laughed and pushed a note of her scribbled hand-writing forward on the counter, quickly returning to the call she had momentarily put on hold.

I picked up the scrap of paper with our company name at the letterhead.

It was an order for room service.

"You're joking!" I complained.

Charlotte gave me a small shrug, also dismissing me to stop distracting her.

I groaned and tossed the scrap into the waste bin.

This was his fifth room service order and it was only 3 o' clock!

This man- Mr. Darcy- was absolutely infuriating.

It had been just any other Monday. I had left the hotel to pick up a coffee for myself, and I ran into him at the end of the line.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I apologized, upon bumping straight into a man as I took my first step through the door, "Wow, the line is long today."

He ignored me and turned back to the front of the line.

The silence that followed was awkward. It shouldn't have been, but the conversation never really ended, so I jumped in again, "How has your day been? I hope better than mine-"

"Fine."

"Oh, okay..." I fiddled with my fingers, "Are you new around here? I've never seen you before, and most the people who come here are regulars-"

"Don't you have something better to do than annoy random strangers in line?"

I scoffed, "You know? You're right! I have much better means of using my time than wasting it on conversing with assholes. My mistake."

He turned around, shocked, and crossed his arms. I shrugged, and silently, he scowled and turned back around.

Because I had offended him days ago, I guess he decided to make it his goal in life to make me 100% miserable.

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he had seen me laughing in the rain out of his window, and decided to ruin my happiness.

Darcy was visiting my small town to see his friend, who happened to be dating my sister, Jane.

That night went terribly, because it was the first time Jane was meeting Charlie's best friend and Charlie meeting Jane's. Each of their best friends, however, happened to absolutely loathe each other.

Back to now, Darcy never allowed anyone else but  _me_  deliver things to his room.  
It was agonizing, and I could tell that he loved watching me squirm.

The nerve of him.

I growled, grabbed the plate of food he requested and made my way up the stairs to his floor.

~~~

"Where's Jane?" I asked Charlotte, later that night.

Charlotte's face fell and she muttered, "Charlie broke up with her. She's sitting in the supply closet."

My heart dropped. Oh, god. Jane had really loved Charlie. Like  _really_ loved. She actually thought that they would get married some day.

I took a deep breath and headed in the direction of the supply closet when Charlotte interrupted me.

She grimaced, "Actually, Liz..."

I moaned and turned around, "Please don't tell me."

Charlotte nodded.

"Room service, again? Come on, I understand he's holed up in his room doing business on that cherished laptop of his, but really. He can take a twenty minute break and go have food at a real restaurant?"

Charlotte shrugged, and I groaned as headed towards the kitchen to fetch his food.

~~~

I knocked on the door and sighed.

This was my life. Running up and down stairs to give some jerk mediocre food fifty times a day.

The door swung open immediately.

I blinked, surprised.

He had never answered the door before, always just left it open for me to come in and drop the food off.

And the fact that he had been so quick, he must have been waiting at the door for me.

"Hi," I said, slowly, failing to not sound as confused as I was.

"Come in," he opened the door wider and fiddled with his fingers, nervously.

I stepped inside and set the food down on the table, picking up the old tray and turning back around.

To my surprise, Darcy moved between me and the door.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you..." he started off, "The only reason that I've asked for you specifically to come up instead of anyone else, is that I've been meaning to tell you all day. Hence, the many times I've ordered food."

"Okay," I responded, still lost. I shifted my weight to the other foot.

"I love you." The words spilled out of his mouth before I could even blink.

I dropped the platter, "You what?"

Darcy looked from me to the tray, "Was it that much of a surprise?"

My mouth hung open, "Yeah!"

"Oh," he stumbled, "Well, um, sorry, I didn't realize-"

"Right, you didn't realize even when we've never had one conversation without yelling. And why? You don't even know the first thing about me, and I don't even know your first name. What happened to the constant arguing between us? The anger? The hate?"

Darcy's eyes snapped up at her from their locked position on the floor, "I never hated you."

"Well, you put up a really convincing act!" Lizzy looked around the room, incredulously, as she thought about the last few weeks with him.

"So, you're rejecting me?" he asked with an edge in his voice.

I threw my hands into the air, "Well what did you expect! Me leaping into your arms and running off into the sunset with you!"

He stood there, wordless yet pissed. I rolled my eyes, grumbling, "You know, Darcy, you have the absolute worst timing in the world. I have to get back to my sister, and console her right now. I don't need another complication," I pushed past him and headed towards the door.

"This isn't about Jane and Charlie!" Darcy called after me, "You're using that as an excuse to leave! Tell me why you really are declining me."

I blinked and swooped around, "I never told you she was upset because of Charlie," I took quick steps towards him.

"Well- I- I'm his best friend, I knew before he dumped her."

"Then why did you stutter when you said that?" My eyes bore into his, "Did you have something to do with this?"

He inhaled, then calmly stated, "I did it for his own good, Lizzy."

"No, you didn't! It's because we're poor, isn't it? That first day you met her and found out that your best friend was dating a maid at a family owned hotel you were disgusted." He opened his mouth, but had no words. I scoffed and stepped back, "Yet you have the  _audacity_ to fall for me?!"

"That's not fair, I never meant to fall for-"

I scoffed again, "Right, no. Of course, it was just an accident to love me. Thanks for  _that_  compliment. See, this is exactly what I'm talking about."

I took steps backward and headed back to the door.

Darcy ran a hand through his hair, "I didn't mean it like that! This is all coming out entirely wrong, let me just explain-"

I was almost out the door when I whipped back around, exhausted from him, "No! I have every reason to hate you! What about George, the bellhop? You saw I liked him, so you drove him away and got him fired-"

His face turned dark, "Wickham is bad news-"

"Bad news for  _you_  maybe! What were you- eliminating your competition?! 'Cuz, congratulations: you won me!" I shouted, finally yanking the door open and storming down the hall.


	5. Pillow Fort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzy meets Darcy's 5-year-old sister.
> 
> (I've known many a modern version of the Pemberley scenes but, ironically, I've never come across a Georgiana who was younger than a teen. I decided to fix that.)

Lizzy ran a hand through her soaked hair and knocked.  
The house's porch was barely enough; the angle of the rain still finding her under the shelter.  
She shivered.  
The downpour had soaked her entire body and it was only getting harder by the second. And darker.  
Lightning flashed, and Lizzy regretting her decision to go for a run on the countryside.  
She wished she could kick herself for it, but to be honest, it was to try and get away from her clouded thoughts about Darcy.  
She heard clanking on the other side of the door, and possibly someone looking through the peep hole.  
The door opened slowly and cautiously, revealing a very confused man on the other side.  
Oh, my god.  _You HAD to be joking._  
"Lizzy?"  
"Darcy?" She swallowed, hard.  
Thunder clapped in the background.  
"I was caught in the rain," Lizzy tried to explain, "This was the nearest house I could find. I was hoping-" She stopped at that. How could she ask to come into Darcy's house after everything that happened between them?  
This was absolute hell.  
Darcy nodded, curtly, and stepped aside, allowing her inside.  
"It doesn't seem like it's going to let up for a while," Darcy stated, shutting the door behind them, "I heard it might go into midnight."  
 _It was only 7 P.M._  
Darcy continued, "I would offer to drive you home, but one of our cars is in the shop, and my mom and dad have the other two. I don't know when they'll be back, I'm sorry."  
Lizzy's aunt and uncle were out to dinner, and no matter how miserable she would be here, she didn't want to ruin their fun night.  
"No, no, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have..." she trailed off, but then looked back up and met his eyes, "I really appreciate this."  
He nodded, and she saw... disappointment in his eyes?  
"I'll get you some clothes to change into," he decided.  
"Okay," Lizzy agreed. She didn't want his clothes, but she knew all the water she had brought in was making a mess in their house.  
Darcy turned and disappeared down the hallway and around the corner.  
Lizzy leaned against the door and took several deep and uneven breaths.  
How did this happen? Fate was cruel.  
She didn't need to stomp on his heart once and later return so that he wouldn't be able to heal and get over her.  
Something dropped in her stomach.  
Wait, did she want him to get over her?  
This was silly. Of course she did. She hurt him, he hurt her.  
And did she even deserve Darcy? She had been wrong about her accusations of George Wickham. She disrespectfully yelled at him when he offered his heart. Sure, he had been rude about it, too, but it was a tender moment that she completely rejected without-  
She was only going in circles. She had been going in circles all month.  
Darcy re-entered the room with a stack of clothes and towels, "The bathroom is the last door on the right."  
Lizzy nodded, thanked him, and shuffled down the hall, where she changed quickly into the massive t-shirt and jeans he had given her.  
They smelled like him. Like his cologne, which she had only ever gotten to smell from a distance before. She brought the fabric to her nose and inhaled deeply.  
Once she finished, she turned towards the mirror, pulling her hair out of the ponytail and squeezing it dry with the towel.  
Upon leaving the room, she took several more deep breaths and tried to prepare herself before going back out there.  
"You can do this, it's just a few hours," she whispered.  
Lizzy turned the doorknob and walked back down the hall.  
Darcy wasn't in the front room anymore, but she looked around and found him waiting in the kitchen, deep in thought.  
Her entrance surprised him, and he didn't speak for a while, just looking at her. "Your hair," he simply stated.  
She looked down.  
Oh, yeah. He had never seen it down before. Only in ponytails.  
She shrugged and took a seat next to him, trying to act casual, "So, what are we going to do for the next several hours?"  
The question was interrupted by a small voice screaming, "Will!" from what sounded like the basement.  
Darcy blinked, looking like he had just remembered something.  
That something was a small blonde girl who came bounding up the steps and into the kitchen.  
The girl stopped in her tracks upon seeing Lizzy, and she hesitantly asked, "Who's this?"  
"Lizzy, this is Georgy. She's my younger sister. Georgy, Lizzy's a friend of mine."  
Lizzy's breath caught at the word friend, but it eased Georgy into a smile, removing all her cautiousness.  
Georgy beamed and extended her hand, dramatically giving Lizzy's a good shake when Lizzy laughed and extended hers.  
"I didn't know you had a sister," Lizzy turned to Darcy.  
Georgy stomped over to Darcy's seat and jumped into his lap, "What do you mean? You should always be talking about me."  
Darcy and Lizzy laughed.  
"I'll make sure to do that more in the future," he noted.  
Georgy leaned forward on the table and held her face in her hands, squinting at me. Lizzy squinted back, jokingly. "Hmm," Georgy said, then turned to Darcy, "She's very pretty. I can see why you like her."  
Darcy gave a choking cough and Lizzy laughed again, nervously. Did Darcy talk about her to his sister and tell her of his feelings for her? If he did, how much did he tell her? Did he mention how he didn't even like her anymore?  
"Will," Georgy whined, "Can we go back to the pillow fort? Come on, we  _just_ started playing!"  
"G, you know I can't. We have a guest and she-"  
"-Would love to see the pillow fort!" Lizzy chimed in.  
Darcy raised an eyebrow at me.  
Lizzy grinned at Georgy, "I'm sure it's  _very_  impressive. I bet you're quite the builder, Georgy."  
Darcy smiled, and Georgy excitedly jumped from Darcy's lap, took Lizzy's hand, and dragged her to the basement as fast as she could.  
They made their way down the steps, and Lizzy saw the massive structure of blankets and pillows and mattresses. Georgy dramatically threw her arms out, exclaiming "Ta-da!"  
"Whoa!" Lizzy said, excitedly, only overacting slightly because honestly, it was outstanding.  
Georgy crawled into the small opening at the front, and turned and waited for Lizzy and Darcy to follow suit.  
When they reached the inside of the massive fort, Lizzy brought her knees up to her chest and gawked at the inside.   
Darcy had strung fairy lights all around the ceiling of the fort, giving lots of light to the space.  
Crayons sat on top of a small stack of coloring pages and books, an iPad and two Nintendo DSes waited in the corner, and a few board games had been shoved to the side after their use.  
Along the corners of the fort, Georgy had lines up all her stuffed animals-  _and there were a lot_.  
"It's incredible!" Lizzy admitted.  
Georgy beamed, "Thank you. We spent all day on it."  
Georgy quickly took to reopening her coloring book and continuing her masterpiece of a bear holding balloons.  
Lizzy gasped and moved to lay on her stomach as Georgy had done, "Is that a coloring book?"  
Georgy grinned and nodded.  
"What are you coloring?" Lizzy inquired.  
Georgy smiled more and turned the book so that Lizzy could see it better.  
"Ooh, excellent decision on coloring the bear blue. Only the best bears are blue."  
Georgy giggled and sat up on her knees, turning around searching through the stack of coloring sheets. She pulled out a half-colored sheet, handing it to Darcy. Lizzy suspected it was the one he had worked on before she knocked on the door. Georgy continued searching and came up with a blank sheet for Lizzy: a drawing of an elephant riding a bicycle.  
She inwardly laughed and looked through the box of crayons for the right colors.  
"So, what grade are you in, Georgy?" Lizzy asked, starting to color her elephant pink.  
"Kindergarten," she stated, simply, still hard at work coloring.  
"Is it super cool?"  
"Yeah, I got a  _bunch_  of friends."  
"Really? Do you like playing with them? Are they a lot of fun?" Lizzy moved to color the bike yellow.  
"Yeah! We play house together, mostly. And color!"  
Lizzy smiled and caught Darcy looking at her, strangely.  
She was barely used to his constant deep stare that he gave her daily back in Meryton, the one with the straight face and serious eyes. But this one was different. He had a funny smile on his face and look in his eyes. Almost fondness.  
Lizzy looked back to Georgy, "So, what are you learning in school right now?"  
"Rhyming words. Right now it's words that rhyme with sat." She began listing off a few, "Cat, hat, bat, mat..."  
"Wow! You're really good at rhyming!"  
Georgy grinned more.  
They colored in silence a little longer before Lizzy looked over at Darcy's page and groaned, "Oh, come on, Darce. Lighten up! Why are you coloring the turtle green? Try red or something. And you're coloring so perfectly within the lines! Where's the fun in that?"  
Darcy rolled his eyes, "Maybe I like it like that."  
"Oh, yeah?" Lizzy picked up a red crayon, reached forward, and scribbled across his paper.  
Darcy looked up at her, a fake anger in his eyes, "Oh, you'll pay for that."  
"How? You can't exactly scribble on my-"  
But he did. He snatched a black crayon and made dark loops all across her elephant.  
Lizzy scoffed and turned to Georgy, "Now that is the definition of not nice. Promise me that you won't be like your brother when you grow up."  
Georgy snickered and nodded.  
"I can hear you."  
"That was the plan," Lizzy sighed, going back to her page and trying to figure out how to make the black work for the picture. Then she just decided that maybe it was a pink and black elephant. Nothing wrong with that.  
Lizzy eventually reached out to disrupt Darcy's sheet more, but their hands knocked. Something shot off inside of Lizzy and she quickly took her hand back.  
They looked at each other for a solid second before she broke and acted like it didn't happen.  
God damn, and it was going so well...


	6. Fancy Business Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzy is invited to a business party in California by her aunt and uncle.

I turned around to see the one and only right in front of me. "Darcy? What are you doing here?"  
"Well," he knit his eyebrows and smiled, "This  _is_  my house..."

My jaw dropped, "This is your house? Wait, but, my aunt and uncle told me that a young woman was throwing this party..."

"My sister," he nodded, "She lives in a small apartment in the city. Not enough space. So I let her use my house."

I smiled, awkwardly, "Oh."

 _Silence_.

"So," He continued, trying to make conversation, "What brings you to the other side of the country?"

"My aunt and uncle said they had some business meetings and a party that they had to attend in California, and asked if I wanted to come sight-see with them. It was only for a day and a half. Not a big deal. We are going back home tonight..." Crap, I was rambling.

"That's soon," he commented, quickly.

I shrugged and looked him in the eyes, something I had been avoiding during our chat, "Yeah, well."

We stood there looking around- at our shoes, fixing our hair, etc- with nothing else to say except for the elephant in the room. I finally gave in, "Look, about what happened back in-"

"Lizzy-"

"No. No, I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I  _was_  wrong about Charlie and-"

"Yeah, but I was wrong about George," I swallowed, "And about you."

He only looked at me, silently, then blinked a few times and looked down at my hands. He frowned. "You're so nervous around me," he observed.

"I'm not nervous," I lied, assuringly.

He scoffed, "I have never once spent more than a minute with you where you didn't have some clever remark in your back pocket. And so far you have yet to come up with one during this whole conversation. Plus, you're picking at your fingernails like crazy; the only other time I've seen you do that is when Jane was sick and you didn't know how well she was doing."

It was weird how good his memory was.

I dropped my hands to my sides, "Okay, fine-"

We were interrupted by a flash of lightning and a loud crack of thunder which made me jump so much that I bumped my elbow against his arm. A lightning strike of my own jolted up my elbow, which was soon forgotten as Darcy said, "Did you say you were flying back to New York tonight?"

I blinked. _Oh, shit._ "Oh, my god, I need to go find my aunt and uncle," I excused myself and merged back into the mess of people who conversed among themselves.

"Pardon me, excuse me, oh! I'm so sorry," I told the girl who I just knocked into so hard that I had shaken her glass of champagne. It had, luckily, not spilled out of the glass at all.

"No harm, no fowl," she smiled.

"Do I know you...?" I looked into her face and recognized traces of someone...

She rolled her eyes, "You probably recognize my brother. Everyone does."

"Your brother?"

"Yeah, I'm Gigi Darcy. But go ahead and call me 'Will's Little Sister' because I guess that's my name now. Although, I'm often told it's supposed to be a compliment..." It clicked in my brain and I connected the faces. Oh, my god.

"Actually, I would disagree. From what I've heard about you, Will would be complimented to be called your big brother."

"Well, thank you, but I was unaware that I had such a big reputation. What have you heard?"

"Oh, not too much, just random snip-its from Will and Charlie and Caroline and Mrs. DeBourgh-"

"You  _know_  all of them?"

"Yeah! I have no idea why, but I've been constantly bumping into your brother and all of his friends over the past year. It's been a little crazy and strange, actually..."

She laughed.

"Oh, hold on, I'm sorry, I never told you my name! I'm Lizzy Bennet."

Her face fell into utter shock, " _Lizzy Bennet_!" She smiled and laughed slightly, "It looks like I'm not the only one with a big reputation attached to my name. I've heard so much about you!"

I chuckled, "From who? Your brother?" My smiled faded as I realized that was exactly who. Why would he tell her about me? I hadn't done anything extraordinary like Gigi...

"Yes, actually."

"Now  _I'm_  the one who's curious. What has he said?"

"Lizzy!" My uncle's voice called from behind me, as he arrived by my side, "Our flight is almost definitely cancelled. It's going to start hailing soon and the rain will only be getting harder. But, I was just talking to Will Darcy and he offered to let us spend the night here! He says it's a favor for an old friend. You didn't tell us that you knew him!"

"Isn't there a hotel we can go to?"

"Only a crappy motel would let us check in at such a late hour, Liz. Do you not want to stay here?"  
No. I really didn't. "Well, no, um, it's not that, I just think we'd be... over staying our welcome."

"Oh, definitely not!" Gigi squealed next to me, "I would love to have you stay! It could be like a sleepover between us!"

I looked from her back to my uncle, who seemed quite eager to stay in a house this large and nice. Sighing, I said, "Sounds great."

 


End file.
